How to stream from laptop to smart tv?

[cidley69]

On main floor I have laptop with media stored in it. Would like to watch shows from this to a tv in upstairs bedroom.

Have a net gear nighthawk 5g router installed.

Is there easy way to watch shows from laptop on smart tv, thru wifi?

[RealJimmyJames]

Chromecast is easy, although there are several other solutions out there.

[killramos]

https://www.microsoft.com/accessorie...pter/cg4-00001

[sr20s14zenki]

IF your shows are HD, you may have issues with them over wifi. I'm not sure if the routers have gotten better, but even back when i had wireless N, i could not get the speed out of it to RELIABLY play hd. I ended up wiring my house for wired LAN. As for the media, i simply run WDTV media players on all my tvs, and share the media on the network from my NAS. Before i got the nas however, i used to share it directly from a drive on my pc, which i think would work for you.

Hope that helped.

[taemo]

verify that your smart tv has the Plex app, then install Plex Media Server on your laptop

[ZenOps]

Miracast and Roku stick?

[mobius]

Originally posted by taemo
verify that your smart tv has the Plex app, then install Plex Media Server on your laptop

This is what I recommend also.

[rage2]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki
IF your shows are HD, you may have issues with them over wifi. I'm not sure if the routers have gotten better, but even back when i had wireless N, i could not get the speed out of it to RELIABLY play hd.

I can stream 4K with AC.

5Ghz N, I could do 1080p no problems as long as the signal strength is solid.

[jwslam]

If you're on a windows laptop can't you right click and "play to" the smart TV?

[killramos]

^ Yea good point most smart tv's have miracast built in which is what most of the solutions people are mentioning do.

My old as fuck N router can stream 1080P to my surface from my xbox just fine ( game streaming ) so i don't see a problem sending 1080p to a tv unless each one is 100ft from the router or something.

[jwslam]

Also just read again that it's a LAPTOP and not DESKTOP. Pick it up and connect it to the TV you lazy bum!

[Xtrema]

I assume you want your laptop (windows) to stay and your SmartTV supports DLNA streaming.

Then check this out:

http://www.howtogeek.com/215400/how-...-media-server/

[cidley69]

Thanks for all the ideas, will look into the Plex/Mirrorcast first.

Its a laptop, but I would like to use it as a media centre, so I can play show from it to living room & bedroom TV without bringing it into each room and plugging it in.

Be best if I could search through directory, pick and play show from the tv, and not have to go to laptop to start playing the show.

Would also like to be able to play stored music on main tv connected to stereo.

I'm not too familiar with NAS, but think this might be what I'm trying to get laptop to do. This possible?

If so what software required?

Thanks again.

[killramos]

What you are asking to do is the definition of Plex and DLNA.

It really comes down to what your Smart TV supports ( if it doesn't support DLNA it might as well not be a smart TV) and if you need to purchase additional hardware to make up for its gaps.

[spike98]

Originally posted by cidley69
Thanks for all the ideas, will look into the Plex/Mirrorcast first.

Its a laptop, but I would like to use it as a media centre, so I can play show from it to living room & bedroom TV without bringing it into each room and plugging it in.

Be best if I could search through directory, pick and play show from the tv, and not have to go to laptop to start playing the show.

Would also like to be able to play stored music on main tv connected to stereo.

I'm not too familiar with NAS, but think this might be what I'm trying to get laptop to do. This possible?

If so what software required?

Thanks again.

Do you have another computer at all? It might be worth while to set up a plex box.

It really comes down to your budget. For $500 you could set up a plex server with a few TB of space to stream everything to any device.

If you are ok with "alternative" means of watching content. Getting a Firestick and streaming with Kodi works well too.

I am moving from the former to the later as is easier. I am coming up on 3TB of movies and shows on the plex box.

[sr20s14zenki]

Originally posted by rage2

I can stream 4K with AC.

5Ghz N, I could do 1080p no problems as long as the signal strength is solid.

Crazy, i must be in an area with high levels of interference. I could play hd, but it would have alot of stops, buffers, drops, etc. Some days id make it thru an entire movie, others it would skip every 5 mins or so.

[revelations]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki


Crazy, i must be in an area with high levels of interference. I could play hd, but it would have alot of stops, buffers, drops, etc. Some days id make it thru an entire movie, others it would skip every 5 mins or so.

Are you using a WIFI device from Shaw/Telus ?

[cidley69]

Starting from zero, if I was going to install/learn/configure just one, which would you suggest:

Plex or Kodi (XBMC)?

[spike98]

Originally posted by cidley69
Starting from zero, if I was going to install/learn/configure just one, which would you suggest:

Plex or Kodi (XBMC)?

Kodi, for the add-ons if anything.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by cidley69
Starting from zero, if I was going to install/learn/configure just one, which would you suggest:

Plex or Kodi (XBMC)?

Plex is super easy.

Install Plex Server on media center PC, tell it the folders to scan for media file. Create a Plex account.

Install Plex app on your SmartTV/Tablet/Phone. As long as it's login with the same Plex account, you are good to go.

Plex server is free.

Plex client is chareged per Google/Apple/MS store account (free on Samsung SmartTV) or you pay for a life time membership (which is quite pricey now if I remembered).

The nice thing is, even with just Plex server installed, you will enabled DLNA. So any DLNA aware players will see the folders you shared. Just a more generic interface compared to Plex client which is more like Netflix interface.

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki


Crazy, i must be in an area with high levels of interference. I could play hd, but it would have alot of stops, buffers, drops, etc. Some days id make it thru an entire movie, others it would skip every 5 mins or so.

2.4Ghz is shit, especially in high density area.

5Ghz is great because a) there are less users with AC routers (for now) and b) there are more channels. But it sacrifice range.